Bursa is the classic day tour from Istanbul: the first Ottoman capital, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a cable car up Mount Uludağ and the original İskender kebab, all about two hours away by road. This guide is about doing it as a private tour: one car, one driver, your group only, from your hotel door and back.
If you are still deciding whether to go at all, or want the ferry and bus timetables in detail, start with our Bursa day trip guide. This page covers what a private tour includes, how the day runs, and how it compares with the other ways to get there. Facts are as of 30 October 2026.
What a private Bursa tour from Istanbul includes
- Hotel pickup and drop-off anywhere in Istanbul, on the European or Asian side, at the time you choose.
- A Mercedes Vito with a professional driver for the whole day: Private Vito or VIP Vito, up to 6 passengers.
- The driver stays with you all day. He waits at each stop while you visit, so you can leave bags and shopping in the car.
- Your route and your pace. Spend an hour in Koza Han or skip the cable car. The order of the stops is up to you.
- Bridge and motorway tolls, fuel and parking for the car, all covered by the fixed day price.
Our drivers are drivers, not licensed tour guides. They know the road and where to stop, but they do not give a guided commentary inside the monuments. If you want a guide in Bursa, ask us when you book and we will tell you honestly what we can arrange.
Get a fixed day price for Bursa: tell us your hotel, date and group size
How to go to Bursa from Istanbul by car: the route
Central Istanbul to central Bursa is about 160 km. The quickest way leaves Istanbul on the Asian side, crosses the Gulf of İzmit on the Osmangazi Bridge, then follows the O-5 Istanbul–İzmir motorway south to Bursa. With clear roads it takes under two hours; in practice allow 2 to 2.5 hours each way, and more on Friday evenings, Sunday afternoons and public holidays, when the motorway back towards Istanbul is busiest.
That means about 4 to 5 hours of the day on the road. In a Vito with reclining seats and air conditioning, most people doze on the way back. Starting early is what makes the day work: the earlier you leave, the more of Bursa you see before the tour groups arrive.
The stops on a Bursa day tour
- Ulu Camii (Grand Mosque). Built between 1396 and 1400 under Bayezid I, with 20 domes, a fountain under the central dome and walls covered in calligraphy.
- Koza Han. The 1492 silk inn next to the Grand Mosque. Silk scarves are still sold around the courtyard, and the tea garden in the middle is the place for a Turkish coffee.
- Green Mosque and Green Tomb (Yeşil Camii, Yeşil Türbe). Mehmed I's mosque, completed in 1419, and his turquoise-tiled tomb across the road, on a hill east of the centre.
- Cumalıkızık. An early Ottoman village of timber-framed houses and cobbled lanes on the lower slopes of Uludağ, part of the same UNESCO listing as the city monuments.
- Uludağ by cable car. The Bursa Teleferik climbs 8.8 km from Teferrüç station in the city to the hotel area at Oteller, at about 1,870 m.
- İskender lunch. Thin slices of döner on cubes of bread, with tomato sauce and hot butter poured at the table and yoghurt on the side. Bursa is where the dish was born.
Ulu Camii, Koza Han and the covered bazaar are next to each other and easy to see on foot. The Green Mosque, Cumalıkızık and the cable car station are spread out around the city, which is the main reason a car with a driver saves so much time compared with buses and taxis.
Sample timings for a daily Bursa tour
A typical day from a hotel in Sultanahmet or Taksim. Your driver adjusts it to traffic and to how long you want at each place.
| Time | Stop | Time there |
|---|---|---|
| 07:30 | Pickup at your Istanbul hotel, drive over the Osmangazi Bridge | about 2–2.5 h on the road |
| 09:45 | Green Mosque and Green Tomb | 45–60 min |
| 10:45 | Ulu Camii (Grand Mosque) | 30–45 min |
| 11:30 | Koza Han and the covered bazaar | about 1 h |
| 12:30 | İskender kebab lunch | about 1 h |
| 13:45 | Uludağ cable car (or the mountain road by car) | about 2 h |
| 16:15 | Cumalıkızık village | about 1 h |
| 17:30 | Leave Bursa, back at your hotel around 19:30–20:00 | about 2–2.5 h on the road |
Private car vs group bus tour vs ferry
There are three common ways to do Bursa in a day. Each suits a different kind of traveller, and the private car is not always the right answer.
| Private car with driver | Group bus tour | Ferry on your own | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who you travel with | Your group only (up to 6) | A coach or minibus of other travellers | Public sea bus, then bus or taxi |
| Pickup | At your hotel, any part of Istanbul, any time | Usually included, often limited to central European-side hotels, with a pickup window | You get yourself to Kabataş, Kadıköy or Yenikapı pier |
| Length of the day | You decide; about 12 h for the full route | Usually 12–14 h on the listings we checked | Fixed by the sailing times, about 4–6 h in Bursa |
| Stops and pace | Any order, as long as you like | Fixed programme, fixed times at each stop | Only what you can reach by bus or taxi in the time |
| Guide and lunch | No guide; lunch where you choose, paid by you | Often a guide and a set lunch; check each listing | None |
| Price | Fixed day price for the whole car, agreed on WhatsApp | Per person, set by the operator | Ferry ticket per person plus local transport |
| Best for | Families, small groups, anyone who wants comfort and flexibility | Solo travellers and couples on a budget | Independent travellers who enjoy the sea route |
For two people, a group tour is usually cheaper. For a family or a group of four to six, a private car often costs about the same per person, and you do not spend the first hour of the day collecting other passengers from other hotels.
The ferry is a nice way to see the Sea of Marmara, but neither pier is in the city. BUDO sea buses from Kabataş land at Mudanya, about 30 minutes by road from central Bursa, and İDO's Bursa sea bus lands at Güzelyalı, about 24 km out. The sailing times are in our Bursa day trip guide. You can also mix the two: take the morning boat and have our car meet you at the pier and drive you back to Istanbul in the evening.
What is not included
- Cable car tickets. The Bursa Teleferik's official price list shows ₺500 for a full-fare return and ₺250 for students (as of October 2026). Pay at the station.
- Meals and drinks, for you and your group.
- Entry fees where they apply, for example the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum next to the Green Mosque. Working mosques do not charge for entry, though donations are welcome.
- Shopping, tips and anything personal.
Price: a fixed day price per car
We do not charge per person for Bursa. You get one fixed day price for the whole car, agreed with you on WhatsApp before the trip. It depends on your pickup point, the date, the vehicle (Private Vito or VIP Vito) and whether you want extras such as the mountain road to Uludağ or a ferry pier pickup. The price you agree is the price you pay: no meter, no extra for traffic, and tolls and parking are included. You pay the driver on the day, in cash in EUR, USD or TRY.
Free cancellation is available up to 24 hours before pickup. If the weather turns on the day, for example strong wind on Uludağ, we change the plan with you rather than drive you to a closed cable car.
How to book your Bursa day tour
- Message us on WhatsApp at +90 507 055 44 36 or through our contact page with your date, hotel, number of passengers and any must-see stops.
- We reply with the fixed day price for the car and a suggested pickup time.
- Confirm on WhatsApp, and we book the car and driver for your date.
- On the day, the driver meets you in your hotel lobby at the agreed time.
See our other day trips and tours. For a quieter day of lakes and forest, look at our Sapanca day trip; for a few hours with a car in Istanbul itself, our hourly chauffeur service starts at $40 per hour (minimum 3 hours).
Landing at Istanbul Airport first? See the fixed price to your hotel
Istanbul VIP is operated by Regatta Turizm (TÜRSAB licence 10138).
